あぢ群のとをよる海に舟浮けて
白玉採ると人に知らゆな
白玉採ると人に知らゆな
- Roma-ji
-
Ajimura no tōyoru umi ni fune ukete shiratama toru to hito ni shirayu na
- English Translation
-
Where flocks of teal
sway and drift upon the sea,
setting out my boat,
that I go to gather pearls—
let no one come to know it
- Meaning
- Launching my boat on the sea where the flocks of teal sway on the waves, I go to gather white pearls—let no one learn of it.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1299
Headnote: "On Jewels"
The poet warns that no one must know he has set out on the sea, where flocks of teal sway, to gather white pearls. The white pearl stands for a beloved woman, and the poem is taken as admonishing himself not to let anyone know he is seeking to win her.
It is the first poem under the heading "On Jewels," which covers five poems. The next poem, 1300, also longs to see the white pearl unknown to others, and the two share the theme of a love hidden from the world. According to the left note it comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection.
The first line, "Where flocks of teal," refers to flocks of aji ducks.
The second line, "sway and drift upon the sea," describes the flocks rocking on the waves.
The third line, "setting out my boat," means launching a boat.
The fourth line, "that I go to gather pearls," uses the white pearl as a figure for the beloved.
In the final line, "shirayu na" combines the passive "yu" with the prohibitive "na": "let it not be known," answering "unknown to others" in the next poem.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Kanikaku ni hito wa iu tomo oritsugamu waga hatamono no shiroasagoromo
- Next Poem
-
Ochikochi no iso no naka naru shiratama o hito ni shiraezu mimu yoshi mogamo